


Stark and Stripes Forever

by haku23



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: 2000 words of Tony freaking the heck out, M/M, wedding fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-08
Updated: 2012-06-08
Packaged: 2017-11-07 06:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/428115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haku23/pseuds/haku23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony is an armoured man with a plan to propose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stark and Stripes Forever

“Shouldn't you maybe _ask_ if you're going to spring something like that on him?” 

 

He's got the ring in his hand as Pepper says it and no, he really hasn't thought of that but it's Steve and they've been dating for a long time so Steve is used to Tony's ideas of surprises. He hadn't liked him trying to fly them to Paris directly after a mission for some uninterrupted loving however he had been hangry at the time. And they'd eventually gone after Steve consumed his weight in food.

 

“It's kind of a surprise. You know, a happy one. It's a happy surprise and this won't be like the time I randomly bought you a pony so don't bring that up.”

 

She had been wanting to, he can tell because she sucks in a 'dammit you caught me' breath, “I was thinking more of that time you kidnapped me from the office and took me to meet Jimmy Choo.”

 

“You were happy, I was happy that you were happy, we were both happy, I don't see the problem here, Pep.”

 

“None of those are 'will you spend the rest of our lives with me', Tony. Besides, how do you think he'll feel being proposed at a baseball game in front of all of those people? It'll be all over the papers the next day.”

 

Okay, so he hadn't thought of that either. But being married is good. Tony is admitting his affection that will last for the entire time he is alive at the very least(he can't speak for after, the afterlife may have great orgies) and that's good. Everyone tells him it's good. “You're being kind of a boner killer here, Ms. Potts. Besides, he's cool with it. He even laughed at that article last week that called me Iron Boner.”

 

“That was an article about the porn they wrote about you.”

 

“Difference...?” he spins the ring in his fingers absently-it's simple, yellow gold, he'd almost gone for red, white, and blue stones but figured he'd save that for the wedding ring.

 

“Just...think about it, okay?”

 

“I've already thought about it. Pepper, Pepper. _Pepper_. Are you sad because you'll never get with this again?” 

 

She turns her chair to look out the window of her office. He guesses that means the conversation is over which is fine because he has people who run the kiss cam to bribe, future fiances to see, that kind of thing.

 

~~**~~

 

“Okay, no, but I'm Tony Stark, so it's okay,” he says into the phone, hand carding through his hair at the man on the other end's response which is basically 'no, though'. It's been twenty minutes of sitting in the living room with the Mets game on in the background arguing with the guy on how he wants to rig the kiss cam, no really, it's not a big deal that they're two men.

 

“Money, do you understand money? Is this what discrimination feels like? What? If I have to sue you to make you listen to me then yes, I would like to formally issue a complaint.”

 

He leans back into the hands massaging his neck for a split second until oh yeah, it's Steve and Steve is supposed to be surprised about getting proposed to. “Listen, I'll get my PA to call you back later,” Tony barks into the phone-he's not a dog but if he were he has a feeling Steve would compare him to a very loud chihuahua right now-before hanging up and tilting his head back.

 

“Working hard?”

 

“Not really, why, are you here to distract me?” he groans when Steve's fingers slide down to his shoulders and hit a particularly tense part. There's a reason why Pepper has her own masseuse on call. That's probably the only thing that had kept Tony alive all these years-without massages she would've snapped ages ago.

 

“Maybe. I was wondering if you were up to sparring.”

 

“Which kind because if it's the one where you punch me and leave me hurting on a mat I'm out.”

 

“Isn't that how all of them go?” Steve murmurs in his ear.

 

“Hilarious, but I was thinking more along the lines of the one with quotations around it.”

 

“Hm...”

 

“Don't make me beg, Steve. Come on, you would leave your hus-handsome sugar daddy to die sexless and alone on a couch?” Tony shudders when Steve's hands slide partway down his chest despite the odd angle. It's half from being turned on and half from realizing he'd almost said husband. No one had ever said that it would be so hard to keep this a secret.

 

“Maybe I want-”

 

“OH MY GOD MY EYES!”

 

“Shut up, Barton, you're just jealous that I won't be being your wingman at the club anymore,” he says it and then immediately wishes he hadn't because really? Really. How many times is he going to say things people are going to question?

 

“I don't remember you getting me any, Stark.”

 

“Brunette, model?”

 

“That was all me.”

 

“And your friend Tony.”

 

“More like an my friend game. Not that I'll miss you 'at the club' but why?”

 

He'd almost gotten away with it too if it hadn't have been for that pesky Hawkeye, “it's boring if I can look but not touch. Not that I'm...looking.”

 

“So, about that sparring, Tony...”

 

“Yes, dear,” he sighs heavily. This isn't going to be the good kind either.

 

~~**~~

 

Pepper gets back to him about the whole kiss cam thing, tells him he's in trouble except and makes him sign papers for an afternoon to make up for the calls she had to make to make sure his plan went according to...plan. Which is really why he hates plans. They're stubborn bastards who never seem to go how they're laid out and that's just frankly unacceptable to him. If he could he would just get down on one knee in the middle of the gym when they're both sweaty and tired out, just say 'marry me?' but no. No. He's committed to this. This, he thinks, is a test. And Steve wants a big deal made of it, he's sure because Steve is Steve and if it were him doing the proposing he would be running his ass off to make their engagement go perfectly(he's a bit of a control freak obviously but it's nice). Steve wants it, and Tony wants to give it to him-in all meanings of those words-thus the only way for him to to about this is for it to be perfect.

 

So he's got the camera ready, he's got the tickets bought, he's made sure Steve is free that day, he's booked the reservation for dinner afterwards(even if Steve eats a ton of hot dogs or crackerjacks at the game he will still eat after and emotional moments make everyone hungry), and he's got the ring. He's got everything set up, perfect, ready to go.

 

Until the stadium is nearly flattened by rogue unicorns. Or are they pegasi? It doesn't matter because Sif destroys half of the place with her Valkyries chasing down some escaped troll or dragon or something from Asgard which has inexplicably gotten free from the other realms. Really. All kinds of bullshit. Tony reschedules everything, it's no big deal except that it's been two weeks now since he'd decided and bought the ring and not saying things like “YOU'RE GOING TO BE MY HUSBAND RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT?!” is really hard. Like, super hard. Pepper had his proposal speech memorized in the first week he had recited it to her so much. But it's not enough. Just telling Pepper is just not enough. Other people have to know. They have to it's...it's unconstitutional not to tell them.

 

So he tells Jan. And he tells Thor. And Jan tells Hank who tells damn near everyone else. Sam gives him the 'if you hurt him you're dead' speech _again_ because Bucky isn't around to do it(Bucky later sends him said speech through Natasha via text message and it's terrifying), Clint complains a lot but he also knows Tony's speech off by heart, and Rhodey just slaps him on the back and tells him not to fuck it up. Pretty much everyone knows but Steve. Actually, everyone _does_ know but Steve. The whole blabbing secrets thing had really gotten out of hand quickly however most people seem determined to keep Steve from finding out at least which is all he asks. Well, that and that some people buddy up while speaking with Steve so they don't accidentally say something that would give it away. Everyone is good, Tony wonders if he's becoming a groomzilla but only for a second.

 

Finally though, finally, the day arrives. The stadium is fixed and Thor has threatened grievous bodily harm to those who would interrupt his shield brother's most joyous proposal. The Fantastic Four are under strict orders not to call them unless absolutely necessary and Tony suspects that the only reason Reed hasn't told Steve aside from that they rarely speak is that he never leaves his lab. Which is good. Regardless, he puts on a nice suit(Steve's eyebrow raises but he says nothing because maybe Tony just likes wearing suits to baseball games or something he's done it before) and checks five times that he has the ring. Once he's secure in the knowledge that said ring hasn't fallen out of his breast pocket somehow they go, Tony insisting that Happy drive them, and Steve giving him looks the entire way. He's not sure if they're 'I want to jump you because you look sexy in a suit' looks or 'something's up and I sense it with my Freedom Sense' looks. Maybe both.

 

“Tony, is something going on?”

 

“Define something because something could be a lot of things, Steve.”

 

“Something...surprising. Like that time kidnapped me and took me to Paris?”

 

“Uhh...it's not a surprise if you know about it?”

 

Steve is utterly adorably baffled looking in his Mets hat(Tony had finally convinced him to stop wearing the Dodgers cap out of spite) then he shakes his head, “if you're planning something...”

 

“Nope, nothing. Really. Hypothetically if I were planning something surprising...reactions? Mad? Happy? Luke warm? I'll take neutral, really. I mean I would, if I were planning anything.”

 

So everyone plus Steve knows now. Maybe he doesn't know exactly what's happening but he's aware of the fact that _something_ is and while Tony isn't one to accept things not being as awesome as he'd imagined this is kind of a special case. He'd tried. He'd tried really hard and Steve didn't know he was _proposing_ he just knew that an event of some sort would occur sometime in the near future. It's almost a win and right now when his arc reactor feels like it'll just explode out of his chest he'll take it.

 

“It would depend on what was hypothetically happening.”

 

“I wouldn't tell you because it's hypothetically a surprise which you're ruining a bit here Steve really just wait. Be patient.”

 

A curve of his lips and Steve doesn't even have to say 'that's rich coming from you' because that smile says it all for him. Regardless they make it to the field and they find their seats alright and he buys them snacks that his stomach refuses to take so he gives to Steve. They don't hold hands which is good considering his hands are sweating like the rivers and oceans of the world are dry and only his palm sweat can refill them. That's a gross thought but it's apt. God he hates baseball so much why is it so slow why is Steve so in love with it oh.

 

“Tony.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Why is the...you know,” Steve turns his head to face him and is pointing with his eyes to the jumbotron. Oh yeah, the kiss cam. Right. His entire plan.

 

“Because I..you're mad. Okay, you're mad. I'm just...Okay, forget it, it was a stupid idea,” he's gesturing wildly with his hands now like that will make the camera operator guy who they had threatened with lawsuits if he didn't stay on Tony until the deed was done stop focusing the entire damn place on the two of them. The him on the screen has all the grace of a dying octopus, even his sunglasses can't hide the holy shit this is awkward face he's making when he takes a quick glance at himself.

 

“Tony are you asking me to marry you?” there's too many emotions in his voice for Tony to separate and analyze. But his eyes are wide, his face is red and there's the barest hint of a smile he knows no one else will see.

 

“Steve, I love you. And I've loved you for a long time which is, let's be real here, pretty surprising coming from me but not as surprising as you loving me back, never expected that because you're...you and I'm...me. I had a whole speech you know, prepared. It's gone now. Pepper or Clint can tell you later if you want to hear it it's not even good I don't even...what am I doing, okay. Yes. Yes I'm asking you to marry me.”

 

“Yes,” Steve says immediately as if he'd been waiting for the second he shut up to say it(he probably had been) and grabs his face pulling him into a chaste kiss. “Yes.”

 

“You want to kill me but yes?”

 

He nods, “I want to kill you, but yes.”

 

Tony stands up, arms raised in victory,We Are the Champions starts playing and about three quarters of the stadium cheers while the others are probably muttering comments to themselves but who cares because they're just jealous he's marrying Captain Fucking America. On the screen Steve is pulling the brim of his cap down over his face with both hands and slouching in his seat. Tony hears him laughing at least a little bit though so he continues his grandstanding for a couple seconds longer. When the camera is off of them and he sits back down Steve grabs his hand.

 

“We're talking about this when the game is over but I love you.”

 

“Sure, awesome, talking is awesome I forgot to put the ring on your finger but awesome.”

 

Steve doesn't let go of his hand to let him perform such a task though, his face is redder than a tomato and he's grinning despite him trying to play the part of stoic soldier so Tony leaves it alone. He can actually get down on one knee later and put the ring on, announce it to twitter, all of those social media things, change his Facebook status to STARS AND STRIPES ARE MINE FOREVER or something equally ridiculous that will make Steve cross his arms over his chest and make the granny Steve face.

 

“I love you too, by the way. Just...in case...you don't...”

 

“Shut up, Tony,” he squeezes Tony's hand. Tony shuts up.

 

Later at the restaurant he actually does give him the proper speech including the ring and the entire place applauds. And Steve, Steve says yes again with the same dopey grin which belies the fact that he makes Tony spar every day for the rest of the week-not always the one with quotations, either. Tony finds he wouldn't really have it any other way.  

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the title LOL. I unashamedly love reading wedding fics so this is honestly just me indulging my obsession however I hope you enjoyed it too!


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